A Timeless Love: Adam & Dan

Lauren Brocato Lauren Brocato | January 23, 2023 | Wedding Features

A sophisticated couple marry in a dreamy wedding at The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago.

Photographed by Pen/Carlson

ADAM SAXTON AND DAN MURPHY met on Hinge, and after a first date at a gallery opening in Dallas, love was in the air. They would eventually find themselves back in that same gallery when Dan proposed. “Adam thought we were on our way to a work dinner, when at the last minute, I told him we needed to stop at the art gallery,” Dan shares. “Little did Adam know the gallery was closed.” In the room where their favorite artist David Yarrow’s prints hung, a custom playlist, a bottle of Dom Pérignon and custom-painted Louis Vuitton ring boxes awaited.

Six months later, the couple married at The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago. “We stayed [there] on our first trip to Chicago together, so it immediately came to mind as the place to hold our wedding,” Adam says (Dan is from Chicago). Dim lighting and an aisle illuminated by candlelight set the scene. “We asked a close friend to be the officiant, which—combined with writing our own vows—made the ceremony feel very personal,” Adam adds. The ceremony culminated with a reading of the United States Supreme Court decision on marriage equality by Justice Anthony Kennedy.

For the reception, the spacious ballroom was populated with inviting lounge areas; bars donning the pair’s monogram; and sleek, plush velvet drapery. “We were aware that for many of our guests this would be their first gay wedding,” Dan says. “It was important for us to show our guests that a wedding between two men can uphold the same style and traditions as the weddings they have attended before.”

The grooms with their 8-year-old twin sons.